A while back I found the old match box pictured here. The label proclaims ‘Pricerite Safety Matches‘.
Pricerite were a supermarket chain. I do not know how many branches they had, or how much of the country they covered.
If I remember correctly they were bought out by International Stores.
It was a long time ago that they disappeared and my memory is vague so I tried finding out more on the internet. I found plenty of references to a current American supermarket called Pricerite. The British Pricerite seems to have largely been forgotten.
Pricerite in Bridport, Dorset.
My personal memory of Pricerite is they had a store in West Street, Bridport, where Superdrug now is.
The existing smaller International closed and business transferred to the Pricerite store. International subsequently merged with Gateway along with FineFare. In Bridport they consolidated operations in the larger FineFare supermarket. That site went on to become Somerfield and is now Waitrose.
The old Pricerite/International premises became a Medicare which had a similar format to Superdrug. Medicare was then sold to Superdrug who at the time were owned by the same company as Woolworths.
Their Head office was in Swanley Kent. I was the Distribution Manager in Avonmouth nr Bristol. Yes we had a store in Bridport which was serviced from Avonmouth.
I had a Saturday job at the store in Weston-super-Mare during the early 1970’s
i worked for them in Camberley
There used to be a Pricerite’s in Halstead, Essex. Mind you, I’m going back to the late 60’s/early 70’s when I lived there. Not sure when it closed, but long gone now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwXQA03MJgE — at time 4.56 in video, 1970 Pricerite van in london
I worked at their store in Sidcup Kent for many years, I also worked at their head office/warehouse. Overworked and underpaid.
I have happy memories of working in pricerites in “grove park” south east london as warehouse boy and then warehouse manager